Welcome to Somerville

On the laugh track to Somerville

By Carol Schaal ’91M.A.

Women taken by the curly-headed blond Michael Somerville ‘94 because he makes them laugh should be forewarned: He’s not real good at romance—or fixing things. When his girlfriend’s car got a flat tire, he took one look at it and announced: “I think we should see other people.”

In Somerville’s recent appearance at the Funny Bone in Mishawaka, Indiana, that line got a big laugh. But then, so did most of his set. As an audience member commented after the show: “He’s good—plus, he even looks funny. Not funny-looking, y’know, but . . .”

The stand-up comic’s newest fan may have been at a loss for words, but Somerville never is. “My friend’s like ’You’re a big guy, you want to help me move?’ Well,” he responds, “you’re fat. You want to make me dinner?”

A free dinner may come in handy to the 33-year-old comedian, who started stand-up while at Notre Dame and quit his day job with an advertising firm in New York seven years ago to pursue the entertainment field. So far, however, the jobs are keeping him solvent. Besides frequent gigs in New York and at venues around the country, the witty observational comic’s been on VH-1’s Comedy Central, XM Satellite Radio’s Comedy Channel and the Bob & Tom show, and he alternates hosting duties for the Friday evening Nick @ Nite’s “Road Crew” vignettes.

The comedian recently released his debut cd: Welcome to Somerville, a 20-track disk that showcases his tight routines and edgy but amiable personality. Information on ordering the CD or tracking the comic’s appearances is available at www.michaelsomerville.com.